Low pressure radio frequency (RF) generated plasmas have become convenient sources of energetic ions and activated atoms which can be employed in a variety of semiconductor device fabrication processes including surface treatments, depositions, and etching processes. For example, to deposit materials onto a semiconductor wafer using a sputter deposition process, a plasma is produced in the vicinity of a sputter target material which is negatively biased. Ions created within the plasma impact the surface of the target to dislodge, i.e., “sputter” material from the target. The sputtered materials are then transported and deposited on the surface of the semiconductor wafer.
Sputtered material has a tendency to travel in straight line paths from the target to the substrate being deposited at angles which are oblique to the surface of the substrate. As a consequence, materials deposited in etched trenches and holes of semiconductor devices having trenches or holes with a high depth to width aspect ratio, can bridge over causing undesirable cavities in the deposition layer. To prevent such cavities, the sputtered material can be redirected into substantially vertical paths between the target and the substrate by negatively charging the substrate and positioning appropriate vertically oriented electric fields adjacent the substrate if the sputtered material is sufficiently ionized by the plasma. However, material sputtered by a low density plasma often has an ionization degree of less than 1% which is usually insufficient to avoid the formation of an excessive number of cavities. Accordingly, it is desirable to increase the density of the plasma to increase the ionization rate of the sputtered material in order to decrease the formation of unwanted cavities in the deposition layer. As used herein, the term “dense plasma” is intended to refer to one that has a high electron and ion density.
There are several known techniques for exciting a plasma with RF fields including capacitive coupling, inductive coupling and wave heating. In a standard inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generator, RF current passing through a coil surrounding the plasma induces electromagnetic currents in the plasma. These currents heat the conducting plasma by ohmic heating, so that it is sustained in steady state. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,632, for example, current through a coil is supplied by an RF generator coupled to the coil through an impedance matching network, such that the coil acts as the first windings of a transformer. The plasma acts as a single turn second winding of a transformer.
In many high density plasma applications, it is preferable for the chamber to be operated at a relatively high pressure so that the frequency of collisions between the plasma ions and the deposition material atoms is increased to increase thereby the resident time of the sputtered material in the high density plasma zone. However, scattering of the deposition atoms is likewise increased. This scattering of the deposition atoms typically causes the thickness of the deposition layer on the substrate to be thicker on that portion of the substrate aligned with the center of the target and thinner in the outlying regions. It has been found that the deposition layer can be made more uniform by reducing the distance between the target and the substrate which reduces the effect of the plasma scattering.
On the other hand, in order to increase the ionization of the plasma to increase the sputtering rate and the ionization of the sputtered atoms, it has been found desirable to increase the distance between the target and the substrate. The coil which is used to couple energy into the plasma typically encircles the space between the target and the substrate. If the target is positioned too closely to the substrate, the ionization of the plasma can be adversely affected. Thus, in order to accommodate the coil which is coupling RF energy into the plasma, it has often been found necessary to space the target from the substrate a certain minimum distance even though such a minimum spacing can have an adverse effect on the uniformity of the deposition.